Prices, Products, and People: Analyzing Agricultural Markets in Developing Countries

Markets for agricultural commodities in developing countries are changing rapidly. Population growth, rural-urban migration, technological innovation, environmental concerns, and policy shifts—both domestic and international—are but a few of the more prominent factors introducing new pressures to which markets must respond. This book addresses the critical task of understanding these ongoing changes and responding with effective marketing arrangements.

The authors go beyond the traditional presentation of economic principles, offering instead a series of applied methods for data collection and analysis. Drawing on extensive experience in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, they not only describe specific procedures, but also provide a wealth of illustrative research results. The book will be particularly useful to teaching professionals, development specialists, and applied researchers working in developing countries.

• Introduction—G.J. Scott.
• FIELD METHODS: SUB-SECTOR ANALYSIS.
• Rapid Reconnaissance Methods for Diagnosis of Sub-Sector Limitations: Maize in Paraguay—M.L. Morris.
• Using Rapid Appraisal to Examine Coarse Grain Processing and Utilization in Mali—J.S. Holtzman et al.
• The Policy Analysis Matrix Applied to Agricultural Commodity Markets—B.I. Shapiro and S.J. Staal.
• A Multi-Product Sub-Sector Study in Rwanda—S. Loveridge.
• Methods for Evaluating the Market Potential of Processed Products—G.J. Scott.
• FIELD METHODS: MARKET ANALYSIS.
• Field Methods for Exploring the Role of Indigenous Rural Periodic Markets in Developing Countries—G. Porter.
• Wall-to-Wall Fieldwork: Secondary Data Collection for Food Systems Research—G.J. Scott.
• Field and Analytical Methods for Agricultural Commercialization Studies: Guatemala—M.D.C. Immink et al.
• Industrial Organization and Market Analysis: Fish Marketing—R.S. Pomeroy and A.C. Trinidad.
• Socioeconomic Methods for the Study of Input Markets: Seed Potato in Argentina—O. Della Vedova and S. Brieva.
• ANALYTICAL METHODS: PRICE ANALYSIS.
• A Primer on Marketing Channels and Margins—G. Mendoza.
• Using Microcomputer Spreadsheets for Spatial and Temporal Price Analysis: An Application to Rice and Maize in Ecuador—D.L. Tschirley.
• Efficiency and Complexity: Distributive Margins and the Profits of Market Enterprises—B. Harriss-White.
• Analyzing Market Integration—F. Goletti and E. Christina-Tsigas.
• Pricing Conduct of Spatially Differentiated Markets—M. Sebello Mendoza and M.W. Roegrant.
• ANALYTICAL METHODS: MODELS FOR MARKET ANALYSIS.
• A Financial Model for the Implementation and Evaluation of Small-Scale Agro-Enterprises—C. Ostertag and C. Wheatley.
• Markets, Transaction Costs, and Selectivity Models in Economic Development—S.J. Goetz.
• Measuring Welfare Benefits from Marketing Improvements: Potato Storage in Tunisia—K.O. Fuglie.
• Spatial Equilibrium Models in Agricultural Marketing Research: A Simplified Exposition—J. Krishnaiah.
• Programming Models: Potential Applications to Agricultural Marketing Research—S.R. Jeffrey and M.D. Faminow.
• Equilibrium Displacement Modeling: An Application to Indonesian Food Price Policy—R. Piggott.